The University of Southern California (USC) was established 1879 when three well-known men of the community donated 308 lots of land towards the establishment of a campus. The University accepted its first batch of students in 1880. It was then home to a total of 53 students, and 10 teachers. Today there are over 33,000 students and 3200 faculty. The University has had a total of ten presidents over the years, currently holding the position since 1991, is Steven B. Sample. It ranked #27 in US News's 2008 "National Universities: Top Schools" list.[3] It was ranked the #8 school in PC Magazine's Top 20 Wired Colleges.[4]

In 1912 USC received the nickname, "Trojans". The schools widely known mascot is a white horse by the name of Traveler, and makes an appearance at all games with majestic Trojan warrior astride. The horse first made an appearance in 1961 at the home opener versus Georgia Tech.